Wikipedia:Online Ambassadors/Apply/Discott

Discott

 * 1) Why do you want to be a Wikipedia Ambassador?
 * I have been editing Wikipeida since 2006 but although I still greatly enjoying editing I have found that I am increasingly enjoying doing Wiki-outreach such as teaching. In January/Feburary 2012 I organised and taught a number of workshops at the University of Cape Town to teach academics how to edit and create articles on Wikipedia.  I would like to do a lot more of this and other outreach/ambassadorial activities in the future.  Additionally I also believe that ambassadorial work (particularly with academia) is very important for improving the quality and quantity of free open access information.
 * 1) In three sentences or less, summarize your involvement with Wikimedia projects.
 * I have been a involved in Wiki-project South Africa for a many years now where I edit, rate and create South Africa related articles as well as occasionly maintain the South Africa Portal page. I have also edited and contributed a number of pages on Wiki-project economics as well as Wiki-project Africa.  I have been associated with Wiki-project US Public Policy since September 2010 and I would really like to get more involved in it as Public Policy is in my area of expertise.  I am very involved in editing and creating articles on Internatinal Relations (particularly for China and African countries).
 * 1) Please indicate a few articles to which you have made significant content contributions. (e.g. DYK, GA, FA, major revisions/expansions/copyedits).
 * An almost complete list of the articles I have created can be found here. I am most proud of my work on People's Republic of China–South Africa relations, Taxation in South Africa and Economy of the Western Cape articles.  A very incomplete list of articles that I have heavily edited can be found here.  So far I have only created one DYK article (Peucedanum galbanum) partly I think because I tend to create articles that are not of very much interest to the wiki community at large, or nominate my own articles.  On my user profile I keep a to-do list of articles to create.
 * 1) How have you been involved with welcoming and helping new users on Wikipedia?
 * Yes, as I mentioned previously I have run a number of workshops in South Africa helping new users to Xhosa language Wikipeida. Pictures can be seen on my user page.
 * 1) What do you see as the most important ways we could welcome newcomers or help new users become active contributors?
 * Teach them the basics first and that it is okay to experiment and make mistakes. Also that they should not to get disheartened when more experienced editors reprimand them for making mistakes or not following Wiki-protocol.  That such reprimands are normal and just part of the learning process on Wikipedia.
 * 1) Have you had major conflicts with other editors? Blocks or bans? Involvement in arbitration? Feel free to offer context, if necessary.
 * I have never had any major conflicts with other editors. I have been involved in some minor arbitrations in instances where I have been asked to arbitrate on a specific issue.
 * 1) How often do you edit Wikipedia and check in on ongoing discussions?  Will you be available regularly for at least two hours per week, in your role as a mentor?
 * I check Wikipedia and my watch list daily and make edits at least twice week but often every second day unless I am in an area without an internet connection. Like the rural areas of Botswana and South Africa.  I would be available regularly for at least two hours a week for mentoring.
 * 1) How would you make sure your students were not violating Copyright laws?
 * The simplest way is to constantly check their work and watch for notifications when they are violating copyright. Since I have done a lot of work on editing articles profiling companies and therefore uploading their logos in a way that does not violate their copyright I have had some direct experience in this.  However it all starts with making the student aware before hand, even if it is just on a very basic level, what constitutes copyright violations and what does not.
 * 1) If one of your students had an issue with Copyright Violation how would resolve it?
 * It depends on the context but generally (assuming I have already covered basic copyright principles on Wikipedia with them) I would look at the licence they are using the material under and the context in which they want to use it. If, as it often is, just a matter of using/uploading said material under the wrong licence then I would tell them which licence they should use and in which contexts they can use that material under that licence.  By an large I think it is just a matter of simple, but patience, explanation and education with a healthy does of learning by doing.
 * 1) In your _own_ words describe what Copyright Violation is.
 * It is the violation of a copyright holder's 'exclusive' rights to use material (either written, recorded, drawn or otherwise generated and/or filed) without their express permission.
 * 1) What else should we know about you that is relevant to being a Wikipedia Ambassador?
 * I am an easy going goal oriented person that enjoys teaching and would really like to get more involved, particularly in an academic setting such as with Wikiproject Public Policy, in promoting Wikipeida and improving the quality of its articles. I suppose that it is also worth while mentioning that if every Wiki editor has a personal bugbear than mine would be referencing.  I expect articles to be well, reliably and constantly referenced where ever possible. Or else how will a reader know that the article is trustworthy?  One of the things I love doing is adding a reference to a line of text or article that does not have it.  However this can only be done when I know where to find such references so I tend to do that on topics that are of great interest to me like economics, history, or public policy.